Short throw mounting question

[docsmilez]

I am considering a short throw projector. I have high ceilings (11.5’) and my screen is 10 feet high by 11 feet wide.

In many posts I have seen with short throw projector setups, the projectors are mounted a couple 1-2’ down from the ceiling. I prefer to have it high right up to the ceiling and more out of sight. Is there a reason people Mount their short throws so low?

If this is an issue with short throws, then I will try to go directly above or behind the hitting area. Any recommendations for projectors at this (12ish feet) distance from screen? My image will be a 4x3 aspect ratio

[Dax]

It depends on the projector. You need to know how much above or below the middle of the lens that the top of the image will be. This info can be obtained on projector central when you are trying to figure out your distances etc.

you could mount to the ceiling (I think the smallest mount you can get is about six inches. and either buy a projector with lens shift or tilt and use keystone (less desirable option if you have to adjust the image by much.

[3on3putt]

I'm of the opinion that directly above the ball is the best place to mount a projector. This is where most short-throw projectors go. You are probably thinking of "ultra short throws," which can be mounted very close to the screen.

As Dax said, the reason for the lower mounting is to account for the vertical offset of the projector. Vertical offset is measured from the center of the lens to the top of the image. So a projector that has a vertical offset of 10 inches means the image will start 10 inches below the middle of the lens.

[docsmilez]

the projector I am looking at (optoma 1080hdr) is about 16'' vertical offset. But that still leaves me with another 18 inches or so to the top of my ceiling. Would mouting it higher and tilting + keystone correction work ok? Or would that degrade quality significantly

[3on3putt]

I'm a fan of avoiding any sort of manipulation via keystone correction. But others will have differing viewpoints. How far would that optoma need to be mounted from your screen? Honestly, if it's right over the ball you don't have to worry about it being a bit lower than the ceiling. You aren't going to hit it. What exactly is your reason for wanting it higher?

[docsmilez]

It would have to be 7.5 feet away , my hitting area is 10 feet. It’s more for optics. I’m trying to avoid having things in my line of sight and peripheries . Just my OCD & one less thing to think about in my swing.

my last projector was 22 feet back and off to the right side of the room. I forgot it was even there when playing. But I’m trying to make an better buildout with better quality image now.

[3on3putt]

You don't need to have the image start at the floor. You'll have an image height of 99 inches and a screen height of 120 inches. You can move the image up off the floor some which will in turn move your projector closer to the ceiling.

So if you leave 10 inches of blank screen at the bottom, you can have 11 inches of blank screen at the top. That would then put your projector at a height of 125 inches. And your ceiling is 138 inches. That's probably about as close as you're going to realistically get, considering the projector itself is several inches thick. And depending on where the vents are on that particular projector, you may run into cooling issues if it's too close to the ceiling.

If it's that big of a deal, you can always sell (or return) that projector and get one with a throw ratio that will put it more over the top of the ball. But I honestly think you're over-thinking it. It's going to be 10 feet in the air. Zero chance that you're seeing that in your peripheral vision. It's a pretty standard location for projectors.